Lifting the Fog: Dealing with Cognitive Problems in Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS

Dr. Bruce Campbell is a recovered ME/CFS patient and former consultant to self-help programs for chronic illness at Stanford Medical School. His nonprofit site (www.cfidsselfhelp.org) offers many articles and a series of low-cost online self help courses for FM and ME/CFS patients in moderated discussion group format. Sign up now for the January quarter.

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Most CFS patients and many people with fibromyalgia experience cognitive problems, often called "brain fog" or "fibro fog." The difficulties, which many people find very distressing, include being forgetful, feeling confused, difficulty concentrating and the inability to speak clearly.

Causes of Cognitive Problems

Cognitive problems can have a variety of causes, including:

Overexertion - Being too active, living "outside energy envelope" Fatigue - Hard to be alert when tired Over-stimulation - Sensory information from multiple sources Multi-tasking - Doing more than one task at the same time Stress - Stress increases CFS/FM symptomsPoor Sleep - Not getting restorative sleep Medications - Side effects include confusion.

Treatments - Strategies for Coping with Cognitive Problems

Cognitive problems are sometimes treated with stimulants, such as Provigil or Modafinil, but these medications can produce a push/crash cycle. In the words of one patient, "Taking stimulants is like borrowing energy you don't really have. You feel better while you're on it, but when it wears off, you crash."

This article describes 15 non-drug strategies for lifting the fog.

1. Use Lists and Other Reminders

• Write out your tasks for the day on a To Do list.

• Use Post-It notes in prominent places to jog your memory.

• Organize your house and possessions so that they give you built-in reminders. For example, keep your medicines where you dress, so you will see them and remember to take them when getting up in the morning and getting ready for bed at night.

2. Do One Thing at a Time

Many patients experience fog when they try to do more than one thing at a time, such as reading while watching TV or talking while fixing dinner.

The solution: Instead of multi-tasking, do only one thing at a time.

3. Avoid Over Stimulation

If you are sensitive to noise, to light or to sensory input coming from more than one source at the same time (for example, trying to have a discussion with the TV on), limit sensory input by moving to a quiet place and avoiding distractions.

4. Organize and De-Clutter

If you find your physical environment overwhelming, organizing your house and removing clutter can be a way to control brain fog.

Reduce fog by living a predictable life with routines: doing the same things every day in the same way. For example:

• Always put your keys in your purse when you arrive home.

• If your fog is thickest in the morning, put out your clothes the night before.

6. Pick Your Best Time of Day

Most of us have better and worse times of the day. Do the tasks that require concentration and mental clarity during the hours you are sharpest. The best time of day varies from person to person.

• For many CFS patients, that time is mid-afternoon to early evening.

• Many fibromyalgia patients find mornings the best. Find the time that's best for you.

7. Postpone, Switch Tasks or Cancel Activities

If you're not thinking clearly, postpone jobs that are mentally challenging, switch to a simpler task or take a break. As one person in our program said, "When I'm too tired and foggy to think, I put things off until the next day and get extra rest instead."

You can also use the presence of brain fog as a signal to cut back. As another person said, "If I'm pretty far gone, that's a sign that I need to cancel some activities."

8. Do Something Physical

Physical activity can increase energy and clear your mind. Activity includes exercise and other things such as laughing, singing and deep breathing.

One patient said, "The very best brain fog reliever for me is to laugh, good belly laughs. I also find deep breathing is good. When I sing, I find it also releases the tension that causes brain fog."

9. Take a Break

Cognitive difficulties can be caused by overactivity. As one person in our program said, "Brain fog helps me to recognize when I'm outside my energy envelope and need a break. Even if I don't feel tired, the fact that I can't think clearly tells me that I am beyond my limit." A brief rest may be enough to end the fog for some people.

The problems associated with fog are found in people who are sleep-deprived. Getting restorative sleep can help limit cognitive problems. For ideas on improving sleep, see the article Solutions for Sleep.

11. Control Stress

Stress can trigger or intensify brain fog. You can reduce fog:

• By avoiding stressful situations,

• By learning how to relax in response to stress

• And by training yourself to mute the production of adrenaline.

For more, see the articles in the stress management archive or the chapter on controlling stress in our self-help course textbook.

12. Eat

Fog may be triggered by lack of nutrition. When you experience cognitive difficulties, ask yourself when you last ate and whether eating something now would help.

13. Reframe

Brain fog can be frightening and embarrassing. Many students have told us that they have learned to speak reassuringly or lightheartedly to themselves and to others at times when they lack mental clarity. If thinking you have to do something leaves you flustered, try slowing down.

Deal with the fact that brain fog is confusing by planning your response ahead of time.

• Develop rules to guide you when you're feeling lost, so you have standard, habitual responses you can fall back on.

• For example, you might decide that you will respond to fog by lying down or by changing to a simpler task.

15. Do a Medication Check

Confusion can be a side effect of some medications.

• If you think this might apply to you, check with your physician about adjusting the dosage levels of your medications or changing to other drugs.

• Also, discuss with your doctor the use of medications to increase attention and concentration.

Multiple Strategies – One Person’s Example

Like the other symptoms discussed in this series, brain fog is best addressed by using a combination of strategies and by developing new habits.

When we have asked people in our groups to describe what they do to combat cognitive problems, we get lists that can be ten items or longer. Here's how one person described how she handles her fog.

My brain fog is worst when I'm exhausted, so I try and stay within my energy envelope. The fog episodes have greatly diminished since I learned that.

Over the last several months, I've gotten organized. Orderliness helps to prevent panic and fog.

And when I'm too tired and foggy to think, I put things off until the next day and get extra rest instead. I use self-talk too, saying "this too shall pass" or "nothing catastrophic will happen if I don't do this right now." That keeps me from going into panic mode and meltdown.

I'm mentally sharpest in the morning before I get really tired, so I schedule all my brain-heavy activities in the morning and leave the simple tasks for afternoon.

I also nibble some protein every couple of hours.

For Information on Other Treatment Options…

This article is one in a series on treatment options for major symptoms of CFS and fibromyalgia. Other articles discuss:

• Solutions for Poor Sleep.
___ Note: This information is reproduced here with kind permission of the author. It not a substitute for medical care. It is posted for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for medical or other professional advice. Consult your physician or other health care provider regarding your symptoms and medical needs.

Please Discuss This Article:

Doesn't apply to me

Posted by: zipkDec 13, 2009

I was very interested when I read the title of this article, especially when I saw that the author is a consultant to a prestigious medical facility, but I was very disappointed when I read it. The points in this article may apply to some people, but certainly not to me. Most of the things mentioned in this article have not helped my brain fog.
The things that have helped are avoiding chemical exposure and food allergies, and taking blood thinners to increase circulation.

I'd like to know why we have brain fog, but otherwise I found the article helpful. I've just left my job of 26 years because I couldn't keep up. How can working people cope with brain fog? Is it all about coping or does it ever get better.

In my opinion based on my personal experience with ME/CFS this illness is some kind of persistent viral encephalitis. So brain fog is a constitutive element of this illness. I would expect some pharmacological suggestions like what neuroprotectants or neurotrophic agents are useful.

I started using many self-management techniques about 2 years ago, to manage CFS symptoms(of 25 years) and have found strategies listed above to be very helpful in dealing with brain fog. I had to learn how to pace myself fairly well first though, by keeping a detailed log of all my symptoms and activities for a few months, working out patterns that caused post-exertional malaise, defining my limits and trying to live within these, and only extending activity very slowly when possible i.e. 5% -10% at most every few weeks under Doctors instructions. It required much self-education, a whole lifestyle change and way of thinking for me. Strategies like these have helped me shift from living in a "Push/Crash" cycle to a more balanced day, and even though progression has been slow, it's better than no progression at all.